CARSON, Calif. » The distance from Maui’s north shore to Seattle is nearly 2,700 miles. For Zach Scott, that distance might have seemed longer as he tried to build a soccer career.

The native of Haiku-Pauwela needed his own tenacity and his loved ones’ support to navigate numerous obstacles on his way to a starting spot as a defender with Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders. Now, at 34, Scott finds himself two games from becoming a champion.

The Sounders will meet the Los Angeles Galaxy as the two-game Western Conference finals end Sunday at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field. If the Sounders survive a complex scoring formula, they would host the MLS Cup against the New England Revolution on Dec. 7.

Playing in the MLS Cup, let alone winning it, would culminate a career that only reached its peak in the past three seasons.

"I don’t think I’ve ever had any player who has improved as much late in his career as Zach has," said Sounders coach Sigi Schmid, who won two MLS Cups with two different teams after guiding UCLA to three NCAA championships.

"He’ll be the first to tell you that he wasn’t the most technical player, the most complete player," said Haleiwa’s Brian Ching, a former teammate who played 11 MLS seasons. "But one thing I noticed right off the bat is his desire to win, to do what it takes to be successful.

"I definitely saw a little bit of myself in him."

Scott remembers receiving early encouragement to play soccer from his mother, Linda.

"It was something to blow off steam and to exercise," he said. "I was like any other rambunctious kid. I surfed and spear-fished with my dad, but soccer definitely was the first organized team sport I did, and that was just my mom’s prodding."

Scott’s rambunctious nature thus found a natural outlet.

"I enjoyed the physicality of soccer," he said. "I’ve always been a pretty physical guy when it comes to sports. I enjoyed bumping heads with people, and that’s the same way today."

But Scott had to surmount significant hurdles to progress.

"Growing up in Hawaii, you’re at a little disadvantage because the level of competition is restricted," said Ching, who is now managing director of the Houston Dash, a women’s professional team. "When you go to college or come to tournaments in the U.S., you see kids your age who are a little better technically."

So Linda drove Zach and his brother, Daniel, all over Maui for competitions. Linda often would sit in her car and read for hours while her sons played.

While discussing his experiences on Maui, Scott recalled "my mom and the countless hours after school taking me to and from training, and waiting in the rain for practices and games to get done," he said.

But constant travel proved expensive, so Linda — as a single mother —worked as many as three jobs. When she could not transport her sons, others volunteered. When the sons needed equipment, friends who owned a soccer store provided discounts.

"I’ve had so many influential coaches who were there to take me home from practice and pick me up," said Scott, who also expressed appreciation for "just the amount of people who put time into molding me, not only into an athlete but also into a good human being."

Scott made the All-State team as a senior at Maui High School in Kahului before continuing his career at Gonzaga, where he played with Ching for two years. As a senior in 2001, Scott earned a place on the All-West Coast Conference first team after making himself into a left back.

"When he first got to college," Ching said with a laugh, "his left foot was probably a standing foot only."

Ching and Scott moved to Seattle in 2002 to play for the Sounders, then a minor league team. Ching went to MLS in 2003, but Scott stayed with the team, became a starter and won league titles in 2005 and 2007.

But playing for those Sounders meant playing in front of about 3,000 fans as a part-time employee.

"It’s a seven-month season, eight months if you make the playoffs," Scott said. "Once the offseason comes, you need to make a living off the field."

During the offseason, Scott worked as an accountant and played professional indoor soccer on the mainland. His wife, Alana, earned most of the household’s income and raised two children while supporting her husband’s dreams.

"She has pushed me the farthest to do this,” Scott told the Maui News in 2009. ”I wouldn’t have been able to survive, let alone thrive, without her blessing. She’s the one who got me to try year-in and year-out to make it into the MLS. She has been not only supportive but inspirational.”

When the Sounders joined MLS as an expansion team in 2009, Scott made the new team in a tryout. Though he started the franchise’s first MLS game, Scott did not become a regular starter until 2012 — at age 32.

"His passing improved immensely," Schmid said. "He was smarter about his decisions. He wasn’t going into as many rash challenges that were causing fouls or yellow cards. He gets into good positions."

Scott’s progress reflects a commitment to consistency.

"That’s what coaches look for," the Maui native said. "They don’t want to see a player who one day is solid and the next game is a bit of a disaster. That starts in training. You’ve got to be dialed in every day because you get rewarded with opportunities. You’ve got to earn your coach’s trust."

Scott not only earned trust and opportunities but perhaps the ultimate compliment from any coach — a compliment that bridges any distance.

"He’s a warrior," Schmid said. "Every time he steps on the field, he’s going to give you everything he has."